Coupler spreader



Dec. 12, 1933. A, E, SMALL 1,938,611

coUPLER SPREADER Filed March l, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l fjzvenor .Z3 @rif/,ur E. Small Dec. 12, 1933. A. E. SMALL COUPLER SPREADER Filed March l, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Azu enor Ar kur E 5111 a Patented Dec. 12, 1933 COUPLER SPREADER Arthur E. Small, Chicago, Ill., assigner, by mesne assignments, to The Symington Company, New York, N. Y.,a corporation of Maryland Application March 1, 1928. Serial No. 258,257 s claims. (o1. 21a-69) The device relates to attachments of a car coupler to the draft gear or shock absorber of a railway car and comprises a coupler having a shank consisting of two pieces pivoted and interlockedtogether to accomplish certain desired objects. The device -might also be described as a coupler having a spreader hinged and interlocked therewith.

The object of the invention is to increase the life of the coupler by decreasing the wear and mashing of the rear end of the shank where it engages the draft gear follower or casing.

Another object of the invention is to increase the life of the coupler by increasing the bearing area between the draft key and the coupler.

Another Lobject of the invention is to provide means so that the car coupler will have a surface contact with the draft gear casing (or follower) in any lateral position it may assume in service.

Another object of the invention is to provide means so that the car coupler will have a surface contact with the front draft key in any lateral position it may assume in service.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spreader or swivel block connected to the coupier shank orstem so as to provide arcuate buf-l ng (compression) and pulling (tension) surfaces therebetween.

Another object is to provide an arrangement for locking the spreader to the coupler and forming them so they .can be assembled only by certain movements, which movements they cannot make while in assembled position with associated parts of the car.

Another object is to attach the spreader to the coupler without any hinge or fulcrum pin, and in fact,v without any split key, cotter, nut or similar securing means.

Another object is to provide a spreader which prevents the portions of a bifurcated coupler shank from spreading orcoming together when the coupler is under compression or tension.

Another object is to provide a spreader which is reversible and cannot be improperly applied to the coupler.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows the coupler, spreader, draftgear and associated parts of the car when the draft gear is in compressed position and the coupler head is swung laterally. n Y.

Fig. 2 is Vsimilar to Fig. 1 but shows the coupier pulled outwardly.

Fig. 3 shows the relation of the coupler shank andthe spreader in normal position.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 shows the spreader partially assembled vwith the coupler shank.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the rear end of coupler shank. K n Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the spreader.

Fig. 8 shows the relation of the coupler shank and the spreader of a modified form of the invention in normal position.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 shows the modified spreader partially 65 assembled with the coupler shank.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the rear en of the modied coupler shank.

Fig. 12 is a perspective View ofthe modied spreader.

The usual parts of the car are shown, such as coupler head 1; coupler shank or stem 2; draft gear or cushioning mechanism' 3; draft sills 4; iront draft key 5; rear draft key 6; yoke '7; striking casting 8 and rear draft gear stop 9.

In the ordinary construction the buff on the coupler is transmitted to the front element of the cushioning mechanism or draft gear casing 10 (or follower) by the coupler shank 2 and the pulling force on the coupler is transmitted 80 to the draft gear through the draft keys and yoke.

In the form illustrated the coupler is provided with oppositely projecting vertically disposed pivots or pivotal means 20, each having Van '85 arcuate pulling surface toward the front of the coupler and an arcuate bung surface toward the rear of the coupler, both of said surfaces being coaxial with a point 23 positioned between them, and therear end of the coupler 24 is 90 correspondingly curved flush with the arcuate buiring surface. v

The spreader has spaced apart horizontal flanges 30-31 connected by a main wall 32 and has a flat bearing surface 33 for engagement 95 with the draft gear casing or follower. Each flange is provided with a vertically disposed arcuate rib 34. Arcuate faces 3'7 are provided on the front of the spreader wall which slidably engage the arcuate rear end 24-22 (or ends) 100 of the coupler. This bearing surface 33 is made as long as is permitted by the space between the arms of the yoke (see Fig. 3) so as to reduce the wear on the key and eliminate the elongation of the keyway.

The coupler now in general use is provided with a slot to accommodate the forward draft key 5 and the size and location of this slot and key are prescribed by the A. R. A., therefore, for interchangcability I prefer to comply with 110 these standards, but in my construction this keyway slot or perforation 60 is located in the spreader but has the same relative position to the coupler head shank, etc., as prescribed by the A. R. A., and is located entirely in the intermediate flange, spacer or lateral extension 61 of the spreader (see Fig. 7) and the rear end of the shank of the coupler is bifurcated, or formed with rearwardly extending anges, (M intercalated with the swivel block anges, and accommodating the spacer or intermediate flange 61 therebetween (see Fig. 6.) The perforation is a keyway for the key 5 which operatively connects the coupler to the yoke "1. The portions 58-59 of the spacer 61 on opposite sides of the slot or perforation 60 are connected by a wall or end 62 to increase the bearing area, under buff, between the coupler and the spreader. (This wall also holds these portions 58-59 from warping when the casting is cooling after being removed from the mould.) Were it not for the arcuate portion 62 of the spreader the crotch or curved portion 63 of the coupler shank would strike the key 5 upon the sudden rearward movement of the coupler from position shown in Fig. 2 to position shown in Fig. 1 which would cause friction between the coupler and key, thus retarding the free swing movement of the coupler in service. And further, the enclosed ends of the spacer in the spreader keeps the spreader at right angles to the key and after the key is inserted, the spreader is prevented from turning. The forward end or Wall 62 of the spacer 61 and the forward end of the coupler slot 63 are concentrically curved. These surfaces are preferably concentric with the curved bufling surfaces 21 on the pivots 2O and rear end 24 of the coupler. The spacer 61 projects into the slot of the coupler so that when the coupler is under compression this spacer prevents the spaced apart portions 54-55 of the bifurcated coupler from coming together, and furthermore, the flanges 30-31 of the spreader prevent the portions of the split coupler from spreading apart.

The spreader is assembled with the coupler by inserting the coupler shank in the spreader until the axis of the coaxial arcuate or cylindrical surfaces of the pivots coincides with the axis of the arcuate surfaces on the spreader and then rotating or swinging the spreader substantially ninety degrees. When the parts are assembled (see Fig. 3) and the yoke 7 and key 5 are in place it is impossible for the spreader to become disengaged from the coupler or even to become cocked or assume a binding position.

In the operation of my device the compression or buff exerted on the coupler is transmitted by the varcuate bufiing surface 22 on the pivots and the arcuate bufiing surfaces 24 on the rear end of the coupler to the arcuate surfaces 37 on the wall of the spreader and thence to the draft gear casing, 10.

The pulling force exerted on the coupler is transmitted to the spreader through the pulling surface on the pivots and thence to the draft gear through the front draft key 5 and the yoke.

In my arrangement, therefore, there is a surface contact (in contrast with a line contact) between the spreader and draft gear casing or follower and between the coupler and spreader in any lateral swung position the coupler` may assume in service when the coupler is under either compression or tension, and, furthermore,

there is always a surface contact between the coupler and front draft key when the coupler is pulling the car no matter what lateral position it may be in.

This interlocking' arrangement eliminates the necessity of a hinge pin which is very undesirable becauseit is broken in service and frequently falls out of position, thus causing the device to become inoperative and resulting in serious damage to the car. I have also eliminated the use of any nut or split key or similar retaining means for any part of my device. Experience has shown that such devices are frequently inadvertently or otherwise omitted by the workmen and are sometimes loosely applied so that the jolting of the car in service jars them entirely out of place.

The spreader is made symmetrical about its middle horizontal plane so that it may be applied either way; or in other words, is reversible and furthermore is foolproof in that it cannot be improperly applied.

In the modification shown in Figs. 8 to l2 inclusive the spreader having a slotted keyway formed therein is provided with oppositely projecting vertically disposed pivots '71 each having an arcuate bufling surface 12 toward the front of the spreader and an arcuate pulling surface '73 toward the rear of the spreader, both of said surfaces being coaxial with a line 74 positioned between them. The spreader is also provided with an arcuate bufiing surface '75 coaxial with the same line '74.

The rear end of the coupler is provided with spaced apart horizontal iianges 77-78 each of which is provided with a vertically disposed arcuate rib 79 coaxial with and slidably engaging the groove between the arcuate pulling and buning surfaces 'T3-'75 on the spreader.

The spreader is assembled in a similar manner to that described for the preferred form and the operation of the modified form of my invention in service is practically the same as that described for the preferred form; in fact, the modified form shows the coupler shank formed to embrace the spreader instead of the spreader embracing the coupler shank, as in the first form. The pivots 7l are shown on the spreader instead of on the rear end of the coupler (20) and the embracing flanges 77-78 on the coupler instead of on the spreader (3G-31).

I have used the term draft gear casing to indicate vthe box or housing which usually encases the shock absorbing mechanism. The projection 39 maintains the proper relation between the coupler and draft gear.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof within the scope of the claims will occur to persons skilled in the art.

In applications for patents Serial No. 251,329 and No. 251,330, filed February 2, 1928, I have disclosed and claimed certain interlocking features between a coupler and a spreader which vided with a vertically disposed integral pivot having an arcuate bufllng surface and an arcuate pulling surface co-axial therewith, and a spreader having arcuate buing and pulling surfaces slidably engaging the buffing and n`1.\1lling surfaces respectively on the couplei*`proi'ided with a spacer positioned within said having a horizontally disposed perforation therein.

2. In a railway car, a car coupler having spaced apart portions forming a slot, each portion provided with a vertically disposed integral pivot having an arcuate bulng surface and an arcuate pulling surface co-axial therewith, with the end of each portion arcuate and concentric with said bufling surfaces, and a spreader having arcuate bui-)ing and pulling surfaces slidably engaging the buflng and pulling surfaces, respectively, on the coupler and having the arcuate surfaces engaging arcuate surfaces on the said portions, said spreader being provided with a spacer positioned within said slot having a horizontally disposed perforation therein.

3. In a railway car, a car coupler shank having a slot forming spaced apart portions in combination with a spreader pivotally connected thereto and provided with a spacer projecting into said slot having a horizontally disposed perforation therein to receive a connecting draft key and form a connection therewith under buffing or pulling movement of the coupler.

4. In a railway car, a car coupler shank having a slot forming spaced apart portions in combination with a spreader having spaced apart.

horizontal flanges positioned respectively above and below the shank and pivotally connected thereto, said spreader also provided with a spacer projecting into said slot having a horizontally disposed perforation therein to receive a connecting draft key and form a connection therewith under bulling or pulling movement 0f the coupler.

5. In a railway car, a car coupler shank having a slot forming spaced apart portions, a spreader pivotally connected thereto and prol jecting into said slot having a horizontally disposed perforation therein, a yoke with portions on each side of said coupler provided with perforations, and a key passing through the perforations in the yoke and the perforation in the spreader to form a connection between the spreader and the yoke under bumng and pulling movements of the coupler.

6. In a railway car, a car coupler shank having a slot forming spaced apart portions, the

forward end of said slot forming a curved surface, in combination with a spreader pivotally connected thereto and provided with a spacer projecting into said. slot having a horizontally disposed perforation therein to receive a connecting draft `key to form a connection between the spreader and key under bufllng or pulling movements of the coupler, the forward end of said spacer forming a curved surface concentric with and slidablyY engaging the curved surface of the slot in the coupler shank.

7. A swivel butt coupler involving a stem portion and a swivel block comprising alternately interspaced flanges intercalated with respect to each other, an intermediate flange on the swivel block extending forwardly of the remaining flanges thereof, the forward surface of said intermediate flange and the corresponding surface on the stem being normally in engagement and coaxially curved for transmitting bufllng forces while permitting pivotal motion therebetween, and pivotal means extending between, connecting adjacent flanges on said stem and swivel block, and coaxial with said engaged surfaces, the intermediate flange on said swivel block being formed with a horizontally disposed slot for entirely surrounding an associated draft key.

8. In railway draft rigging, in combination with draft sills, a yoke, a coupler comprising a stem portion and a swivel block having alternately interspaced flanges intercalated'with respect to each other, an intermediate flange on said swivel block extending forwardly of the remaining flanges thereof, the front surface of said intermediate flange and the co-operating surface on the stem being coaxially curved for permitting pivotal motion and normally in engagement for the transmission of bufllng forces, pivotal means extending between adjacent flanges on said stem and swivel block for connecting said coupler and block, the intermediate flange on said swivel block being slotted, said slot extending forwardly of the pivotal means connecting the stem and block and discontinued rearwardly of the front edge of said flange, and a horizontal key received in said slot and corresponding slots in said yoke and with its ends received in corresponding slots in the sills, whereby it is adapted to function for the transmission of bufllng forces which are delivered from the coupler stem to the swivel block and from there through the key to the sills.

ARTHUR E. SMALL. 

